Matrix-making machine.



G. NOVI. MATRIX MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1908.

1,1 OO, 1455. Patented June 16, 1914.

GIOVANNI NOVI, 0F ROME, I'LLY.

MATRIX-MAKING MACHINE.

Specieaton of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed September 29, 1908. Serial No. 455,363.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GiovANNI Nov'I, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Rome, Italy, (whose post-ofliee address is 13 Via Nazionale,) accountant, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Matrix-Making Machines, of which the fol-f lowing is a specification.

My present invention relates to an apparatus for producing stereotype matrices or fiongs. F longs. are special pasteboards on which in the ordinary stereotypic process matrices or impressions are obtained by pressing the pasteboard in a wet or plastic condition on a typographie composition or other print .or picture, whereupon the said fiongs are dried and hardened, and may th'en be used as matrices to receive the molten metal from which the stereotypic casts or compositions are finally obtained.

According to my present invention, contrarily to the old processes, I obtain my stereotypic flongs or matrices by impressing on wet pasteboard the composition by means of a type writing machine of any known type but suitably modified so as to be adapted to the said special purpose as obviously the ribbon or inking pad and cylinder and alltheir subsidiary and operating parts and devices are to be done away with. The most important requirement however is to produce by the said modified form of type writing or stereographic machine` very clean impressions of lettersor symbols in the fiong all of which must be of a uniform depth, which is obtained by a blow or stroke-limiting or shielding device which checks excessive strokes of the type-writer keys.

A further and lnost important requirement of my new machine is to provide for micrometric movements of the long frame or chase to permit of suitably dividing words or syllables at the end of the lines, a device entirely missing in ordinary type-writing machines. This is obtained by using a micrometric set screw designed to control the chase.

In order that my present invention may be bet-ter understood I will now describe same with the aid of the annexed drawings in which like reference letters throughout the figures correspond to like parts.

In the said drawings: Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of my vnew matrixmaking machine; Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section; Fig. 3 is a detai'l view of the flong frame or chase in elevation and sectional View; Fig. 3a is a horizontal section of Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the frame carrier in elevation and sectional view; Fig. 4a is a horizontal section ofFig. 4; Fig. 5 is a seetional View showing connection of frame, frame carrier and blow o1' stroke-.limiting device: Fig. 6 is a side elevation view showing a form of key lever device, adapted to be operated by electricity.

It is obvious that in order to adapt a known type such as a Remington,I Underwood or Monarch type-writing machine to matrix-making purposes according to my present invention, the letters or symbols on the `hammers must be of hardened cast steel, and more deeply cut or of a higher relief `than those of ordinary type-writing machines in order to produce a proper impression in the wet flong. In lieu of the usual impression roller of a type-writing machine, a flong frame or chase 1 (Fig. 1) is placed on the carriage -12-, to which chase a strong and perfectly smooth and even steel bar 7 is connected having a longitudinal slot or opening corresponding to the percussion center of the letter or symbol which, on being operated, penetrates into the soft material of the Hong to a depth exactly -limited by the web of the laterally protruding letter pedestal or. type-bar head -6- striking against the border or rim J7-'of the slot, (Fig. 2), so that the depth of the impression in the flong will be exactly regulated by the blow limiting act-ion of the said bar or shield and will always correspond to the height of projection of letter or symbol on its pedestal or block, c'. e. the type-bar head -6-.

Owing to the fact that the border of the blow-checking shield closely surrounds the letter or symbol when striking the fong, obviously, there'can be placed but one letter or symbol on the type-bar head, instead of two letters or symbols as in the ordinary type-writing machines. Therefore the keyboard of my new machine must comprise a. complete alphabet of both capital and small let-ters besides all of the other signs and symbols, and therefore the carriage-shifting device for capital letters is done away with.

To the above described blow-limiting shield -7-, which regulates the depth of the impression in the Hong. the {long-carrying frame or chase 1 is so Vfitted that it al- Ways keeps the same position on the car- Iso riage and the shield 7, which latter at the point where it receives the chase has a groove fitting a correspondingprojection on the frame so that the said shield bears on the Hong so as to keep it flat notwithstanding the frame. `On the other hand the chase must be capable of being so fed or shifted on the car as to obtain equidistant interlinear spaces. The chase is therefore secured on carrier 2 controlled by a screw, or a rack andy pinion device -2-, -3- (Fig. 2) operated by a hand-wheel '--3-, (Fig. l). The chase carrier may also be controlled by a micrometric screw 51 in order to vbe able, as has been said, to divide syllables or words at the end of the line.

The chase l consists of a perfectly even metal sheet on which the fiong cut into exact shape, is placed and firmly fixed thereto by two or three side bars. It is obvious that each different size of-long requires a different size of chase adapted only to a given number of lines leaving a margin all around the frame which space will be filled up by the thickness of the side walls of the casting box when the chase will be fixed on the same. Castings being more difficult the larger the dies are, it will be convenient to generally limit them to 10, and never exceed 20 lines in one die or casting.

Asthe matrix or impression produced in the flong though being negative as regards its purpose of producing a stereotypic cast therefrom, is po-sitive as regards the position of the letters and symbols, it may be easily read and corrected before a cast is obtained therefrom. Correction of` typographical errors however means preparation of a fresh flong. This is another reason .for which small sizes are to be preferred. The Hong may be secured to the chase by screws so as to prevent any displacement, and pressed on a back plate 1S- also by screws.

For obvious reasons my above described machine will be considerably larger. sized and stronger built than ordinary type-writing machines, and therefore, in order to not voverwork the-operator, the type-bar operatino' device may be operated byelectricity.

In the annexed drawings, 1 is the flongframe or chase, 2 the chase carrier, 3 the hand-wheel by which the rack and pinion device 2 3 may be controlled; 4 is the chase carrier lor guide; 5 a micrometric screw designed to control small movements of the chase carrier; -5- is a plate with a dovetailed groove; 6 is the hammer or type-bar head with the letter or symbol; '-7-, the blow-limiting shield or bar; 8 are hammer guides; -9-- hammer or typebar operating links or levers; 10 is the key; 11 'are uprights, and 12 is the car. Each type-bar is pivoted as at 6 to the supporting member 8, and has1 a curved slot 9 within which lies a member 8.

As shown in Fig. 5, the chase has three guides, namely the dovetailed groove 50 in which fits the dovetailed projection 50 on the chase carrier, and the two grooves 51 in the shield 18 for the correspondin projections of the two frames so as to lkeep the Hong -20- properly pressed between two parallel even surfaces.

In the form of device as shown in Fig. 6, lever -9-- is electrically operated, and key 10 is only designed to close a circuit and may therefore be placed anywhere.

In the ordinary type-writing machines owing to the equality of spaces the letters therefore appear to be at varying distances from each other accordin to their being meager or fat letters, w ich result in a greater waste of paper surface. In order to avoid this and give the stereogra hic composition the very appearance of or inary typographic composition the following device has been provided in my present apparatus.

The levers of the meager letters on the key being depressed shift the chase carrier such a distance as to print each of the meager letters closer to its preceding letter. After the hammer and key have been restored to their normal positions, the chase carrier guide-pin 10 carried-by said also resumes its position ready to further proceed regularly.

My above described machine is operated as follows: I place the flong 20-in a plastic condition on the back plate of frame -1- and I then apply to it by screws or otherwise the chase to hold the flong in place thereon. I then fit the chase to its carrier -2- and insert the same in a dovetailed groove on the car of the machine, whereupon by hand-wheel 3 and rack and pinion ldevice -2-, -3- I lower or raise the chase and flong so as to bring that part of the flong where it is desired to write the first line, opposite the slot 7 of the slotted bar or blow limiting shield 7, and the spot of the line where the first letter or symbol is to be written on the flong, opposite the percussion point of hammer head -6-. I then strike the mechanically or electrically-operated key 10 and impress the symbol in the plastic face of the Hong, the depth of impression being limited to exactly the chase to a drying action, after which a casting box, preferably such as described and shown in my co-pending application Ser. No. 510,924, is applied for the purpose of obtaining a east from the impressions in the flong.

I claim:

l. The combination with the-carriage of a type-writing machine and the type bars, of a Hong-frame carried by the carriage and a shield arranged'in front of the Hong-frame and provided with a longitudinal slot for the passage of the type carried by the typebars, said shield being arranged to limit the lstroke of said type-bars and to press upon the Hong to keep it flat and cause it to be carried along With the long in its movement.

2. The combination with 'the carriage of a type-Writing machine and the type-bars, of a Hong frame, a carrier for the latter, and a guide for the carrier, said long frame carrier being adapted for adjustment within said guide, Ameans for adjusting said flong frame carrier, and a shield having a longitudinal slot and extending longitudinally across and in front of the flong frame in position to limit the stroke of the type-bars and to press upon the flong to keep it flat and cause it to be carried along with the Hong in its movement.

3. The combination with the carriage of a type-Writing machine and the type-bars, of a long frame, a. carrier for the latter, and a guide for the carrier, a rack on said carrier, a pinion engaging said rack, means for rotating the pinion, and a shield extending longitudinally across and in front of the Hong frame and having a longitudinal slot for the passage of the type carried by the type-bars, said shield being arranged in position to limit the stroke of the type-bars and to press upon the long to keep it flat and cause it to be carried along with the Hong in its movement.

4. The combination with the carriage of a type-Writing machine and the type-bars, of a :Hong-frame having a dove-tail groove in one face, a carrier for the Hong-frame having a dove-tail projection fitting Within said groove, a guide on which said carrier is adjustably mounted, a plate carried by the carriage and having a groove in which the said guide is adjustably mounted, means for adjusting the carrier vertically, and means for adjusting the guide laterally, all -for the purposes specified.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

` GIOVANNI NOVI. Witnesses:

Gr. B. ZANARDO, Gr. BizsARRY. 

